Audible Nectar Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Is it just me, or is anyone else having a problem accessing Coytee's thread about cloning MC30s?? I can access every other thread here, but that one denies access for some reason. I can only assume others are having that problem, by virtue of 180+ "looks" but only three posts..... I know the server is experiencing pains, but this is a bit strange.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 same here Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 it looks like it blew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 ...can you just IMAGINE what they had written on there...Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 If I remember correctly, when this thread was started, I wrote to Mac and asked about trannies for the MC30s. "Not available" was the reply. Then I found a company in Wisconsin that rewinds bad trannies: http://www.roger-russell.com/autran.htm I wrote them and got this reply: Hello Bruce, I am the only McIntosh and Marantz rewinder in the USA. If you are interested, I still have ONE MC-30 for sale for one grand plus shipping. I may have two MC-30/40 steel cans available for producing another amplifier as I try to collect as many as I can. MC-30 OPT'S are $600.00 each, the power transformers are $500.00 each. Remember that McIntosh used C-Cores for their OPT'S and I keep a stock of cores for the MC-30/40 as well as the MC-60/75's plus brand new cans for these units. I even make MI-350 OPT'S plus power transformers and they are very expensive.Doc Hoyer Needless to say, their tranny design isn't easy to reproduce, or made by anyone else. What you can get is very expensive. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Just got back from moving my sis in law into her new house... Tried to access thread earlier and thought I was only one who couldn't. I guess from what Bruce says, my basic conclusion is right... in that, it's the transformers that are the "magic" (for however the magic is defined by those that love them) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 If I remember correctly, when this thread was started, I wrote to Mac and asked about trannies for the MC30s. "Not available" was the reply. Then I found a company in Wisconsin that rewinds bad trannies: http://www.roger-russell.com/autran.htm I wrote them and got this reply: Hello Bruce, I am the only McIntosh and Marantz rewinder in the USA. If you are interested, I still have ONE MC-30 for sale for one grand plus shipping. I may have two MC-30/40 steel cans available for producing another amplifier as I try to collect as many as I can. MC-30 OPT'S are $600.00 each, the power transformers are $500.00 each. Remember that McIntosh used C-Cores for their OPT'S and I keep a stock of cores for the MC-30/40 as well as the MC-60/75's plus brand new cans for these units. I even make MI-350 OPT'S plus power transformers and they are very expensive. Doc Hoyer Needless to say, their tranny design isn't easy to reproduce, or made by anyone else. What you can get is very expensive. Bruce This is exactly the reason I plan to procure an MC30 close in serial numbers for each of my two pairs.....if I have a tranny or any other issue 10-20-30 years from now, I won't need to worry if Doc's services are still available. As Terry DeWick says, "Unobtainium can be very expensive". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 I'm not much of a circuit genius, but I'm told that part of the sound is in the technique of the winding of the transformer. Some of the "McIntosh anal" even go out of their way to source amps close in serials, so the windings will be as similar as possible (don't have a clue whether or not that really matters sonically, though - the slight schematic changes throughout the MC30 production would likely be more responsible). Mac has had the same two ladies winding trannies for almost 30 years....they seem to take that matching thing seriously. And then, of course, there is the issue of rarity - Doc is the only one that I know of that does this now, so as Mark alludes to, you are paying for the rare knowledge of recreating that transformer. One thing seems true, however - no quality iron is cheap. I can buy average condition MC30s cheaper than Doc can rebuild 'em, though.....at least for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 Yup $600 for outputs $150 for the transformers and $450 because it's McIntosh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painful Reality Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 I'm a bit suspicious about this 'matching' idea. So do I. Actually I'd be pretty much suspicious of the quality control of a transformer winder if you would need to use consecutive serial numbers to get identical OPTs... But this being said, some form of DCR matching can be done by the manufacturers in the case of step up transformers or other pice of irons with windings made out of really fine wires. But as you said, it's really not the case with OPTs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 Would the design still be proprietary? It seems that someone could get the designs somewhere and then replicate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 McIntosh gets a very nice premium just for being... well, McIntosh. Very similar to Harley Davidson. Nothing else looks like them. Honda, Yamaha etc. has been copying that Harley look for years and yet still, all the old, bald laywers and doctors are riding Harleys that cost a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 here is a thread that refers to a book and a project of building a tube amp using mcintosh transformers http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/tubehifi/vpost?id=970576 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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